Sythe's Legend
by Beta Chris
Summary: Two years after the incident on Elysium, two unlikely people choose the life of Digging.........
1. Default Chapter

Sythe's Legend

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This is my first fanfic. Well, at least the first one I've taken seriously. Many thanks to Himaco, who has been a constant inspiration to me, both in this work and in others. Review if you want, more chapters are coming.

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Disclaimer-MegaMan is not mine. Him and everything associated with him belongs to Capcom. Who can't even bother to fix little errors in their instruction manuals. (grumble)

Chapter 1

-Intro-

_In this world, covered in water, there exist many legends. Tales of mighty heroes performing great deeds for the sake of the world and all its people. Often overlooked, however, are the exploits of those brave souls which have very little, if any, impact on the world at all._

_One particularly brave soul is about to tell such a story._

Mark Sythe could be described as a strange person who chose a strange occupation. At the fresh age of seventeen, he already had a full head of messy white hair, countless scars across his chest and left arm, and a cybernetic right arm. His pained gray eyes were fixed on the ceiling above him, as he lay motionless on the hospital bed.

He uttered, to nobody in particular, "Where am I?"

He heard a gasp, then someone running. He was trying to register these sudden sounds in his mind when the doctor came in. The doctor was a man in his mid-twenties with dark brown hair and glasses that were almost too big for his head. Mark could hear him saying something, but couldn't focus. He was still trying to remember what happened. He tried thinking simple: Something hit the airship, there was fire, then he was falling. It wasn't making sense, so he went back to his earlier thought.

"Where am I?" He asked again, this time, louder and more clearly.

The young doctor stopped talking to the nurse standing nearby and walked to his bedside. He said with obvious pity in his voice, "You're at the hospital on Nosin island. You've been asleep for nearly a week."

Mark was quiet for a moment, realized that he had survived something, and moved on to his next and last question. "Where is Claire?"

The doctor looked away and said, "We found only you, your arm completely mangled and nearly dead from blood loss. I'm sorry."

Mark clenched his one natural fist and slowly closed his eyes. The last thing he felt as he once again fell asleep was a single burning tear, rolling across his cheek.

(I await your flames. Gimme your best shot.)


	2. Chapter 2 The One Who Cared

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Many thanks for the reviews from Himaco and Feldinaut. Also, yes this is a Legends fanfic. Most of the early chapters won't have much to do with the game directly, though. If you hold out till the end, I think you'll like what you find. Here you go!

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Chapter 2

The One Who Cared

Mark didn't talk much. When he did, it was usually a very short conversation. This didn't really matter much, though, as only one person ever talked to him. The nurse had felt sorry for him from the moment he was brought in. She had spent all of her free time caring for him. It was she who had run from the room when he woke up. Now she kept him company, and tended to his many wounds.

Even if he wasn't much of a talker, the nurse was. She told him that her hair wasn't really red, but that she liked to color it. She told him she hated being shorter than most people. She even told him about how all of her family had died, and that she didn't have any friends. This was why she was able to spend so much time visiting him.

Mark was quite content with this arrangement, as it took his mind off of the fact that painkillers had virtually no effect on his body. Which is why he was so shocked when she asked him a question.

"Who was Claire?" She asked.

The answer came slowly, "Claire Tao. She is…my spotter."

"Is?" The nurse repeated.

"She lives." He muttered. He could feel her still.

"Oh." She said, feeling even more pity for him than she had previously. "Wait, then you're a…."

"Digger." He finished for her.

"Wow! But you're so young! Why would you decide to be a digger?"

"I didn't." He replied. "We did."

**-Well, enjoy then. And do tell me if you like it.-**


	3. Chapter 3 The Meeting

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At this point, I'm switching the point of view to that of Mark. Many thanks to my reviewers: Himaco, Feldinaut, and Terra Chronicle. I hope you guys stick with me, and that more come to read. Also, all of the chapters up to eight have already been written, but to increase the length a bit, I may stick some of them together, and afterwards, I'll work on making them longer. Enjoy!

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Chapter 3

The Meeting

About two years ago an incident occurred on a snow covered island near the northernmost point of the world. That place was called Forbidden Island, and every person who had ever gone there disappeared. On that day, two years ago, all of those people suddenly came back, no older than they were when they left. Everyone went home to their families. Everyone, that is, except me.

When I woke up on that frozen island, none of the people there recognized me. We built a boat out of the remains of the airships that had crashed into the island, and made for the nearby island of Calinca. Nobody knew me there either. I stowed away on boats and airships to travel the world, looking for any clue as to who I was. All I had to work with was the tattoo on my left arm. It was on me when I woke up on that day two years ago. Most wouldn't recognize it, but she did.

We met in Fuja City, on an island of the same name. She was the first person to ever catch me. I ran through the streets, over houses, and even through part of a ruin. I can still remember how angry I was when I found out why she was chasing me.

She had asked me while trying to catch her breath, "Why is _that_ on your arm?"

"This isn't about the food I stole?"

I had expected that after she found out that I know nothing, she would make me give back the food and leave, but she did something completely unexpected. She asked if she could eat with me.

She sat with me, in the woods where we had stopped, and shared a meal for the first time. We talked for hours about everything we could think of. She explained to me what the markings on my arm mean. She told me that my arm bore the symbol of the Master System, which had been disabled just days before. She told me all about the disaster that almost occurred when Elysium, the "heart" of the Master System, was suddenly reactivated.

The entire time she was explaining this, I was trying to recognize the mark on her forehead.

I asked her, "What does yours mean?" She seemed a little panicked.

"I…it doesn't really mean anything." She told me. "It's just decoration…."

Of course I knew she was lying. She was, however, the only person who had ever talked with me like this, and I wasn't going to scare her off.

Eventually, the sun began to set, and I became tired. I asked her, "Would you like me to walk you home? It's getting late."

She wrapped her arms around her knees and looked down. "I don't really have a home…." She said softly.

I looked at her, confused at this statement. She didn't look homeless. She was at least cleaner than I was. But somehow I knew she was telling the truth.

"How about you come with me, then?" I offered. She blushed and began stammering incoherently. "My name is Mark Sythe." I stood up and offered her my hand. "I don't have any money, or a place to stay, but you're welcome to come with me."

She took my hand and stood up. "Claire. My name is Claire Tao. But, where are we going to go?"

I smiled and said, "Wherever we can find a way to live."

That night we decided to start going on digs to earn money. We deciede that I would be the digger, and she would spot for me. Thanks to Claire, I no longer worried about my past. All that seemed to matter was making a future.

This one's longer, I think.-


	4. Chatper 4 Our First Dig

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I'm back. A hearty thanks to anyone still reading this, I hope you enjoy this part. It's supposed to be my first attempt at action… A note to elementalman, who was kind enough to leave his e-mail: Ninja have been dispatched. Enjoy!

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Chapter 4

Our First Dig

Claire and I spent all of the next day looking for anything we could use as equipment. We both knew at least a little bit about mechanics. At the end of the day we had managed to construct a simple two-way radio system, a somewhat dependable radar, a goofy looking suit of armor, and a weak blaster. We were lucky with the blaster. It was in almost perfect condition, with the exception of the trigger, when we found it.

We may not have had the best equipment in the world, but we were ready for our first dig. We were so excited, we didn't care if every Reaverbot the Ancients had built guarded the ruin we picked.

As it turned out, there were none to be found. It was just dark. This wasn't much of a problem, since the ruin was mostly corridors with an actual room only appearing occasionally.

Claire was really enjoying the radio that day. "Mark, I don't think there are any reaverbots here," she told me. "I wonder if there's even a refractor…"

"Funny you should mention that," I replied as I walked into the room housing a medium sized, blue refractor core. "Found it!"

"That's strange," she began, "It's not showing up on the monitor. Maybe the equipment's broke?"

"Well, with this we can just buy…."

"Look out Mark!"

Once I had removed the refractor, things became much more complicated.

The room wasn't dark anymore. There was an eerie red light emanating from the walls, a light that flooded the area.

"Mark!" Claire cried helplessly, "You have to get out of there!"

"No kidding!" I was already running for the door I had come through, I had already seen why she was panicking. The lights were crawling out of the walls. I didn't bother hitting the button to close the door behind me.

I sprinted down the corridors; trying desperately not the let the reaverbots coming out of the walls knock me off balance. I could still hear their metal bodies slithering behind me. They flung their snake-like bodies at me while Claire yelled things I already knew.

"Mark, be careful! They're everywhere!"

"Thank you Claire!" I shouted sarcastically.

I finally made it to the elevator to the surface. As I neared it I noticed that the reaverbots were falling back. I slammed my fist on the power button and blacked out as I rose to the surface.

I know it's short, but Iwanted to make sure the next part started off the next chapter.-


	5. Chapter 5 Our Bond

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That was quick, yeah? There's more ready to go, but I gotta make a few small changes so that Mark has more emotion. I based him just slightly off of me, so...yeah... Thanks to you all!  
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Chapter 5

Our Bond

When I came to, I was on my back, looking p at Claire. I had expected to be outside, but instead found myself in a tiny room, with only a single bulb in the ceiling providing light. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her hands changing my bandages. When she took them off, I could see the damage. My arms were a mess. They were both torn up pretty badly. There was blood all over my legs, and my ankle felt like it had been turned completely around. There was a huge gash across my chest, and it hurt when she tried to clean it. For some reason, though, the pain was not only tolerable, but welcome. It was as though the pain were immediately followed by some kind of soothing warmth. She wrapped my wounds in fresh bandages and started to sit down when she noticed my eyes were following her.

"You're awake…." She said, and brushed my hair out of my eyes with her hand. That same warmth spread across my forehead. This time, though it traveled down to my chest as well. I noticed something on her wrist.

"You're injured." I mumbled. She quickly pulled the sleeve of her green sweater over her own bandages.

"It's nothing, really." She said quickly. "I'm surprised that you can talk…."

I tried to focus my eyes on her, but my vision was fuzzy. "Why's that?" I murmered.

She pointed to my wounds. "Blood loss." She looked down. "I was worried…." She stopped for a moment. "I was worried that you might…." She trailed off.

"You were worried…about me?" I asked. She nodded. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind. I tried to think of something to say to tell her what was on my mind. I wanted to tell her how happy I was to have someone who cared about me. I wanted to tell her how much I cared about her.

"Weird," was what came out of my mouth instead.

I could see sadness in her eyes, and she seemed a little irritated. "You need to rest, good night."

If my legs would have worked, I would have kicked myself.

I felt horrible. I had made Claire sad. I knew that I had to make it up to her. She wasn't just my spotter, or my ally. She felt like something more, but I wasn't sure what. All I knew was that I wanted her to be happy.

I waited until I was sure she was asleep, then started trying my limbs. My arms felt almost normal, but my ankle still hurt a little. I needed clothes. Close to the bed I found them. A little bloodstained, but still wearable. I was limping out the door when I heard a soft voice.

"Mark…."

I spun around and saw Claire asleep on a small couch. She was mumbling in her sleep. I acted without thinking. I knelt down next to her, tucked her blanket in around her and whispered, "I'll be back soon."

I kept good on my word. Shortly after I left what was apparently some kind of van, I found three red flowers growing near a tree. Those were perfect. I remembered that while we were looking for supplies, she told me that her favorite color was red. I carefully picked them and made my way back to the van.

When I came in, Claire was still sleeping. Carefully, I tore a strip of fabric from my shirt and tied the flowers together. I set them gently on the dash near the steering wheel, where I knew she would find them, and started back towards the bed I woke up on. I stopped.

I found myself looking at Claire. Something seemed different, but I could tell that she was the same as she had been when we first met. I shook it off as temporary madness caused by blood loss.

My last thought before I drifted off to sleep was, 'When did we get a van?'

My first real attempt at anything resembling romance. Cute, eh?


	6. Chapter 6 A New Start

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This is the last one that was already ready to go. Now it'll take a little longer to update, since I'll have to actually write something. Enjoy.

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Chapter 6

A New Start

We didn't really talk about that much…. She seemed a little emberassed about it, and I was still a little worn from the ordeal in the ruin. Since I was able to hang onto the refractor core, we had a little money. That was where the van came from. I'm not sure why she didn't try finding a hospital instead, but whatever her reasoning, it saved my life. She never told me the details, but somehow I was as good as new the next morning.

Over the next few days we just sort of sat around planning out what to use the remaining zenny for. Once the awkward small talk was out of the way, everything went back to normal. It wasn't long before we had our next dig planned. This time with professionally made armor. We were even able to afford a buster gun.

We were so excited about the buster gun that we forgot about what may have been the most important part of the dig. Getting there. We didn't have enough money to put fuel in the van.

By selling off all of the equipment we had made ourselves, I was able to get just enough to get us to the ruin in a nearby town. After that, we would have to get more somehow. We figured, though, that if we could get there, we could work out the other problems later.

My mind was wandering around as I walked back to the van, fuel canister in hand. I thought of what kinds of things Claire and I could do if we made a lot of money. I was like a child, though it was not that long ago. The thought crossed my mind to go to this Elysium place for a visit. My mind snapped back when I saw Claire, in the armor, laying on the ground.

"Claire!" I yelled as I ran to her, "Are you okay?"

"Well," she was very calm, "I thought I'd see what the armor feels like when you're in it, see….Then I fired the buster gun. Could you help me up?"

We never laughed harder than on that day.

I know it's short….. The new ones will be longer, I promise!-


	7. Chapter 7 The LoveStruck Youth

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The first really big moment. More to come, of course. A thousand thanks to each of you who reviewed, and a special thanks to Terra Chronicle and Feldinaut, for being the first people I recognized from GameFaqs.  
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Chapter 7

The Love-Struck Youth

It wasn't long before we were on the road. Our next destination was a small ruin in the middle of nowhere. There was, however, a small village near it. Our plan was to get a little treasure out of the ruin, sell it, and use the money to get to Chek. Chek was the only city on the island with a port. Since it was fairly large, we safely assumed that there would be big ruin in the area.

First, though, we had to make it to the tiny village of Shym. The drive was long, considering we had never had to travel for more than an hour on foot. A five hour drive, with Claire at the wheel. We both survived, thankfully, but I have since questioned wether or not she knows left from right.

After five minutes, she had everything under control. We talked. Five hours of silence is too much, even for me. And I enjoy silence.

"So," she broke the ice, "how's it going back there?"

I was in the back of the van, sitting on her bed, trying desperately to resize the helmet piece to my head. "Oh, just fine!" I replied, unconvincingly as the helmet fell from my hands and landed on my foot. I heard a giggle float from the drivers seat. "Urg… I'll bet you hit that bump on purpose…."

"Who, me?" Claire said Sweetly.

After a couple of hours, we stopped for a break. We both needed to stretch, and take care of what people need to do naturally. The entire time, I was trying to tighten the helmet. Claire watched me for a bout ten minutes, I think, while I wrestled with the little screws on the inside. Finally she took it from me.

"Try this," she said, and undid the safety lock that keeps the screw from moving.

For a moment I stared in disbelief. The I cried, "YOU. ARE. A. GENIUS!" and kissed her. Right on the lips. Five seconds later I realized what I had done. My muscles all tensed up and I looked at Claire in fear. I stammered, "Sorry, Claire….I uh…got carried away in the……excitement….."

Her answer surprised me so much that I almost fainted. (almost)

"Actually, I liked it. Do it again?"

Back on the road, and an hour behind schedule we found an interesting problem. We each had a small bed to sleep on in the van. Aside from that we had a small sofa and two square feet of empty space. The rest of the van was packed with spotting equipment and tools. Considering the relationship we had just begun, this created an awkward situation. We decided that we were just going to have to trust eachother not to try anything.

The sun began to set, and we were only halfway there. We had no choice but to rest for the night in the van. We were eating a simple meal of bread when Claire raised a point that I really should have thought of before.

"Mark," she said softly, " was there a lake or a fiver anywhere near here?"

I wasn't sure, so I pulled a map off of the shelf where the radar monitor rested. I pointed to a spot about a centimeter west of a small river. "That's where we are." She mumbled a thanks and studied the map for a moment. Slowly, my mind worked its way around her request. With a pang of emberassment, I realized her reason for needing a water source. "I probably smell, after the past couple of days. I'll wash up after dinner." Her face had turned deep red at this point.

I hadn't expected the water to be so cold. There was not even the sunlight to warm my skin. I was quick with the soap Claire handed to me; she must have thought ahead. Even though the water was uncomfortable, I was glad to be clean. My clothing would have to wait another day, but I was clean.

In case anyone was wondering, this was going to be a much more...intense chapter. I'm trying to keep it somewhat innocent for now.


	8. Chapter 8 New Allies

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Going through some slight changes, guys. My usual source of inspiration isn't...around anymore. I'll still try to make this work though. You've all given mepositive feedback, I'll finish this thing for you. I hope you enjoy this. I tried to fix the issue of Mark and Claire just suddenly hooking up.  
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Chapter 8

-New Allies-

I had thought it strange, how quickly we had been drawn to each other. This was soon to be shaken from me, though. It was when we arrived, early that morning, that I heard his name for the first time. A name that still haunts me today. It was a name I will never forget, and not because it sounded stupid.

"…Megaman…"

I felt a chill run down my spine as two little kids with yellow faces walked by, casually talking about someone called "Megaman." In haste I addressed them, and nervously asked who Megaman was.

"Megaman is stuck on the big space station!" squeaked one.

"We're making money for Miss Tron's spaceship!" piped the other one.

They both suddenly looked very scared.

"We weren't supposed to tell anyone, huh?" and with that they ran away screaming, "Retreat!"

I stood in shock. "Weird." I wanted to go after them. For some reason, the name "Megaman" filled me with dread. Just then, though, I heard Claire's voice.

"Mark, are you ready?"

Things got interesting as soon as I entered the ruin. I heard the little kids from earlier calling for help. About a hundred yards ahead of me I saw five of those little yellow faces, and three reaverbots shaped like wolves closing in on them.

I fired without even thinking about it. Everything seemed to melt away except for the reaverbots and myself. Time itself seemed to slow to a crawl as I moved effortlessly around the room. Fire, dodge, fire, dodge. It felt like a dance. Soon the dance was over, and I was left with three smoking piles of metal around me, and five weird little kids staring at me.

Two of them awkwardly waved at me.

"It's dangerous in here. You kids go wait on the surface." I said sternly.

"No way!" said one of them, boldly stepping forward. He soon lost some of his nerve, and looked at his feet while he mumbled, "Miss Tron'll punish us if we don't bring back some money…."

"Miss Tron?"

"She's waiting for us to get the refractor core here and return to Chek! Then we can go get Megaman!" said one of the two I had run into earlier.

I thought for a moment. "You know," I said, " you'll never make it to that core on your own…" the all shifted nervously. " And we do need to get to Chek…."

I continued deeper into the ruin, five of them behind me.

Claire's voice came over the radio, "You smooth talker, you."

I don't know if this is long enough or not. Enjoy anyway.


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